Movable body monitoring apparatus, and vehicle control system and traffic system using the movable body monitoring apparatus

ABSTRACT

A movable body monitoring apparatus is mounted on a movable body and to receive movement data related to movements of other movable bodies. The apparatus includes an acquiring unit, a generator, a determining unit, and a monitoring unit. The acquiring unit acquires the movement data on the other movable bodies. The generator generates group information on a plurality of low-speed movable bodies which are determined based on actual speeds or types of the other movable bodies. The determining unit determines whether to generate the group information by the generator, in accordance with a travel environment. The monitoring unit collectively monitors movements of the plurality of low-speed movable bodies using the group information, when the group information is generated. The monitoring unit individually monitors the movements of the plurality of low-speed movable bodies, when the group information is not generated.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims priority from Japanese Patent ApplicationNo. 2018-181317 filed on Sep. 27, 2018, the entire contents of which arehereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND

The disclosure relates to a movable body monitoring apparatus, and avehicle control system and a traffic system using the movable bodymonitoring apparatus.

In recent years, as for vehicles such as automobiles on which personsget when moving, it has been considered to assist or automaticallycontrol the travel of the vehicles and the operation of devices that areused in the vehicles. Moreover, in order to improve, for example, thesafety, the smoothness, the movement cost, the comfortableness, and theenvironmental friendliness of vehicles when moving, it is desirable tocontrol the vehicles, not only based on information separately detectedby each vehicle, but also using complex information obtained by widelyacquiring and collecting information related to movements of othermovable bodies such as the other vehicles except the host vehicle andpedestrians, and information on a travel environment.

Traffic systems available for this purpose include, for example, anintelligent transport system (ITS), a cooperative ITS, universal trafficmanagement systems (UTMS), an advanced rapid transit (ART), and a publictransportation priority system (PTPS), and the study and the developmentof these systems have been progressed. Moreover, as for the cooperativeITS, the standard TC204/WG18 is formulated.

SUMMARY

An aspect of the disclosure provides a movable body monitoring apparatusconfigured to be mounted on a movable body and receive movement datarelated to movements of other movable bodies. The movable bodymonitoring apparatus includes an acquiring unit, a generator, adetermining unit, and a monitoring unit. The acquiring unit isconfigured to acquire the movement data on the other movable bodies. Thegenerator is configured to generate group information on a plurality oflow-speed movable bodies which are determined on a basis of actualspeeds or types of the other movable bodies. The determining unit isconfigured to determine whether to generate the group information by thegenerator, in accordance with a travel environment. The monitoring unitis configured to collectively monitor movements of the plurality oflow-speed movable bodies using the group information, when the groupinformation is generated. The monitoring unit is configured toindividually monitor the movements of the plurality of low-speed movablebodies, when the group information is not generated.

An aspect of the disclosure provides a vehicle control system includingthe movable body monitoring apparatus, and a vehicle control apparatusconfigured to control a vehicle on a basis of the monitoring by themovable body monitoring apparatus.

An aspect of the disclosure provides a traffic system including themovable body monitoring apparatus, and a server apparatus configured totransmit and receive movement data related to the movements of themovable bodies to and from the movable body monitoring apparatus.

An aspect of the disclosure provides a movable body monitoring apparatusconfigured to be mounted on a movable body and receive movement datarelated to movements of other movable bodies. The movable bodymonitoring apparatus includes circuitry. The circuitry is configured toacquire the movement data on the other movable bodies. The circuitry isconfigured to generate group information on a plurality of low-speedmovable bodies which are determined on a basis of actual speeds or typesof the other movable bodies. The circuitry is configured to determinewhether to generate the group information by the generator, inaccordance with a travel environment. The circuitry is configured tocollectively monitor movements of the plurality of low-speed movablebodies using the group information, when the group information isgenerated. The circuitry is configured to individually monitor themovements of the plurality of low-speed movable bodies, when the groupinformation is not generated.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic explanatory diagram illustrating an example of atraffic system according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example in whichvehicles and pedestrians are moving as a plurality of movable bodies.

FIG. 3A to FIG. 3E are explanatory diagrams illustrating acorrespondence relationship between generation status of movement datarelated to the movements of the plurality of movable bodies and theamount of data stored in a memory.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a vehiclecontrol system that is provided with a vehicle communication deviceaccording to the embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of processingof a receiving controller in FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of processingof a group generator in FIG. 4.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of processingof a transmitting controller in FIG. 4.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of processingof a movable body monitoring unit in FIG. 4.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of processingof a travel controller serving as a vehicle control apparatus in FIG. 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the disclosure will be described withreference to the accompanying drawings.

Consider a situation in which information on movable bodies and the likecan be actually transmitted and received. In this case, vehicles such asautomobiles that collect and process the information would be to acquiredata on a large amount of information and to use the data for control ofthe vehicles.

However, vehicles of related art such as automobiles have received andprocessed, not movement data on individual movable bodies, but (i)congestion data into which the movement data are collectively abstractedand (ii) partial map data for guiding a path, in an area including thehost vehicle position.

Even if a technology enables the vehicles of the related art such asautomobiles to widely collect information on movable bodies, thevehicles are not configured to appropriately acquire movement data on alarge number of movable bodies widely collected or control the travel ofthe vehicles based on the acquired movement data.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication (JP-A) No.2001-126193 and JP-A No. 2016-225723 disclose techniques of groupingpedestrians in accordance with travel directions of the pedestrians andmonitoring the pedestrians. These techniques are considered to reduce amonitoring load, compared with a case in which a plurality ofpedestrians are individually monitored.

However, even when the pedestrians are grouped and monitored, apedestrian who acts differently from the other pedestrians can bepresent. Moreover, some situations can be not suitable for monitoringwith grouping. In this case, as in JP-A No. 2001-126193, such asituation can be assumed that monitoring with grouping does not provideexcellent monitoring. Moreover, inappropriate monitoring makes theappropriate control of travel of the vehicle based on the monitoringresult, difficult.

It is desirable for a vehicle such as an automobile to appropriatelymonitor a plurality of movable bodies based on the movement data on theplurality of movable bodies that can be collected.

FIG. 1 is a schematic explanatory diagram illustrating an example of atraffic system 1 according to the embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 1 illustrates a plurality of vehicles 2 serving as a plurality ofmovable bodies, a plurality of pedestrians 3 serving as low-speedmovable bodies. In the vehicles 2 such as automobiles on which personsget when moving, assisting or automatically controlling the travel ofthe vehicles 2 and the operation of devices that are used in thevehicles 2 have become available. In addition to an automobile or anelectric vehicle on which a plurality of persons can get, examples ofthe vehicles 2 include a motor cycle, a personal mobility aid, a cart,and an electric wheelchair.

The traffic system 1 in FIG. 1 includes a plurality of vehiclecommunication devices, a plurality of pedestrian communication devices,a base station 4, a beacon apparatus 5, and a server apparatus 6. Theplurality of vehicle communication devices are respectively provided tothe vehicles 2 such as automobiles. The plurality of pedestriancommunication devices are respectively carried by the low-speed movablebodies such as the pedestrians 3. FIG. 1 illustrates the vehicles 2 inplace of the vehicle communication devices and the pedestrians 3 inplace of the pedestrian communication device. The traffic system 1 mayuse a base station of a commercial wireless communication and acommunication device that is disposed on a road shoulder of a highway,as the base station 4.

In the traffic system 1 in FIG. 1, the communication device of each ofthe vehicles 2 and the pedestrians 3 transmits movement data related toa movement itself as a movable body to the server apparatus 6 via thebase station 4 or the beacon apparatus 5. The server apparatus 6collects the movement data related to the movements of the plurality ofmovable bodies, generates data on traffic information as necessary basedon the collected movement data, and transmits the movement data and thedata on the traffic information to the communication devices. The serverapparatus 6 transmits and receives the movement data related to themovements of the movable bodies, to and from the vehicle communicationdevices.

In the traffic system 1 in FIG. 1, the communication device of each ofthe vehicles 2 and the pedestrians 3 transmits the movement data relatedto the movement itself as a movable body to another communication devicethat is in the vicinity thereof.

Upon receipt of the movement data and the like from the server apparatus6 or a communication device of another movable body, each communicationdevice stores and uses the movement data and the like for control of themovement itself.

For example, in FIG. 1, the right-hand vehicle 2 travels straightleftward. The left-hand vehicle 2 in FIG. 1 travels straight rightward.The right-hand vehicle 2 and the left-hand vehicle 2 in FIG. 1 pass eachother on a bidirectional road, for example.

The lower-right-hand pedestrian 3 in FIG. 1 travels straight upward.Before the lower-right-hand pedestrian 3 with a low movement speedreaches an intersecting position of courses of the right-hand vehicle 2and the left-hand vehicle 2 in FIG. 1, the right-hand vehicle 2 and theleft-hand vehicle 2 have passed the intersecting position.

In contrast, the upper-left-hand pedestrian 3 in FIG. 1 travels straightdownward. Accordingly, there is a possibility that before and after thetiming when the upper-left-hand pedestrian 3 reaches an intersectingposition, the left-hand vehicle 2 in FIG. 1 may reach the intersectingposition.

In this case, the vehicle communication device mounted on the right-handvehicle 2 in FIG. 1 accelerates or decelerates the movement speed of thehost vehicle so that the right-hand vehicle 2 does not pass through theintersecting position simultaneously with the upper-left-hand pedestrian3, based on pre-received movement data related to the movement of theupper-left-hand pedestrian 3.

It is expected that the traffic system 1 transmits and receives movementdata related to movements of a plurality of movable bodies to and fromthe plurality of the movable bodies to allow the plurality of themovable bodies to move in safety.

For example, the vehicle 2 can control the vehicle 2 not only based oninformation detected by the vehicle 2 itself, but also using complexinformation obtained by widely acquiring and collecting (i) informationrelated to movements of other movable bodies, such as other vehiclesthan the host vehicle, and the pedestrians 3, and (ii) information on antravel environment.

Transmitting and receiving the movement data among the plurality ofmovable bodies using the traffic system 1 in this manner can improve thesafety, the smoothness, the movement cost, the comfortableness, and theenvironmental friendliness of the movements of the movable bodies.

The traffic system 1 available for such a case includes, for example, anintelligent transport system (ITS), a cooperative ITS, universal trafficmanagement systems (UTMS), an advanced rapid transit (ART), and a publictransportation priority system (PTPS). The cooperative ITS isstandardized by the standard TC204/WG18.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example in which thevehicles 2 and the pedestrians 3 are moving as a plurality of movablebodies.

FIG. 2 illustrates a main road 7 that extends in the vertical direction,and an alley 8 that extends in the left direction from the main road 7.The vehicles 2 such as automobiles move on central portions of the mainroad 7 and the alley 8. The pedestrians 3 move on side portions of themain road 7 and the alley 8. Moreover, the pedestrians 3 stop before apedestrian crossing 9 on a red signal, and cross the main road 7 on thepedestrian crossing 9 when the signal turns to green. FIG. 2 illustratesa large number of the pedestrians 3 and a large number of the vehicles2.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object of the traffic system 1,the vehicle 2 that travels on the main road 7 from the lower part to theupper part in FIG. 2 in such a travel environment, for example, iscautious about not only another vehicle 2 such as an oncoming vehiclethat travels on the same main road 7, but also a large number ofpedestrians 3 that walk on the road side stripe near the vehicle 2, thepedestrian 3 and the vehicle 2 that appear from the alley 8, and travelsby finely adjusting a course thereof so as not to come into contact,such as collision, with these.

Accordingly, the vehicle 2 is to instantaneously acquire movement datahaving information, such as the positions and the speed of a largenumber of other movable bodies that are present in the surroundingthereof. This enables the vehicle 2, when passing by another movablebody, to adjust the course so as not to come into contact with the othermovable body.

Each movable body is to continuously acquire the latest movement data ona large number of other movable bodies that are present in thesurrounding of the movable body itself. For example, the vehicle 2 thatis located at the head on the alley 8 is to continuously acquire thelatest movement data on a large number of other movable bodies that arein an area surrounded by a circular dashed line.

Moreover, each movable body is unable to limit the number of othermovable bodies that are present in the surrounding thereof by themovable body itself.

FIG. 3A to FIG. 3E are explanatory diagrams illustrating acorrespondence relationship between a generation status of movement datarelated to movements of a plurality of movable bodies and the amount ofdata stored in a memory 18.

FIG. 3A illustrates plural pieces of movement data on a pedestrian A.

FIG. 3B illustrates plural pieces of movement data on a vehicle A.

FIG. 3C illustrates plural pieces of movement data on a pedestrian B.

FIG. 3D illustrates plural pieces of movement data on a vehicle B.

In FIG. 3A to FIG. 3D, the plural pieces of movement data are generatedin order from the left side to the right side.

FIG. 3E illustrates a time change graph illustrating the total dataamount of the movement data from FIG. 3A to FIG. 3D.

As illustrated in the graph in FIG. 3E, the total data amount of themovement data proportionally increases in accordance with the elapse oftime. Moreover, the increase ratio of the total data amount becomeslarger as the number of movable bodies increases more.

In order to achieve the object of the traffic system 1, as illustratedin FIG. 3A to FIG. 3D, each movable body repeatedly transmits movementdata having information, such as the latest position and speed thereof,at as short intervals as possible.

As a result, as illustrated in FIG. 3E, the total data amount of themovement data that are transmitted and received among the plurality ofthe movable bodies dramatically increases in accordance with the numberof movable bodies to be collected and the elapsed time from when thecollection is started. The amount of data stored in the memory by eachmovable body in order to monitor the movements of the other movablebodies also increases in the same tendency.

As in the foregoing, in order to achieve the object of the trafficsystem 1, the communication device in each movable body that is providedto the vehicle 2 or the like and acquires and collects the movement datais to appropriately collect such a large number of movement data and usethe large number of movement data for control of a movement thereof.

The vehicle 2 such as an automobile has no experience of having treatedsuch a large number of data.

However, a vehicle 2 of related art such as an automobile simply has adata processing ability of processing data detected by the host vehicle,and receiving and processing static congestion data into which movementsof individual movable bodies are collectively abstracted and partial mapdata for guiding a path, in an area including the host vehicle position.

In other words, even if a technology enables current vehicles to widelycollect information on movable bodies, the current vehicles cannotappropriately acquire widely collected dynamic movement data on a largenumber of the movable bodies or control the travel and the like of thevehicles based on the acquired dynamic movement data.

Moreover, even if the current vehicle has such a processing ability,there is a possibility that the vehicle cannot move forward at all orthat an unnecessarily and excessively reacted movement of the vehicleoccurs.

Therefore, it is desired that the communication device of the vehicle 2can excellently acquire a large amount of movement data on a pluralityof movable bodies that may be acquired from the traffic system 1, andexcellently control the travel and the like of the vehicle 2 based onthe acquired movement data.

Hereinafter, measures taken in the embodiment will be described.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a vehicle control system10 that is provided with a vehicle communication device according to theembodiment of the disclosure.

The vehicle control system 10 in FIG. 4 is provided to the vehicle 2 asa movable body, and controls the travel and the like of the vehicle 2.

The vehicle control system 10 in FIG. 4 includes a wirelesscommunicating unit 11, an image capturing device 12, a scanning device13, a GPS receiver 14, a travel sensor 15, an environment sensor 16, anoperation member 17, the memory 18, a timer 19, an electronic controlunit (ECU) 20, and an in-vehicle network 21 that couples these units. Aone-chip microcomputer may include the memory 18, the timer 19, and thelike, in addition to the ECU 20. This one-chip microcomputer may becoupled to the in-vehicle network 21.

In FIG. 4, a vehicle communication device 22 may be configured with, forexample, the wireless communicating unit 11, the memory 18, the timer19, and the ECU 20.

The in-vehicle network 21 is a network that couples devices that areprovided to the respective units of the vehicle 2, in the vehicle 2 suchas an automobile. The in-vehicle network 21 may be a controller areanetwork (CAN), a local interconnect network (LIN), or Ethernet, forexample. Moreover, the in-vehicle network 21 may include a relay device,and a plurality of communication cables that are coupled to the relaydevice. In this case, the devices that are provided to the respectiveunits of the vehicle 2 may be distributed and coupled to the pluralityof the communication cables. The devices that are provided to therespective units of the vehicle 2 transmit and receive data to and fromother devices via the in-vehicle network 21.

The image capturing device 12 captures an image of an inside or asurrounding of the vehicle 2. The vehicle 2 compatible with the trafficsystem 1 may be provided with the image capturing device 12 thatcaptures at least an image ahead of the vehicle 2. In this case, thevehicle 2 acquires a captured image of another vehicle or the like thatis travelling ahead of the vehicle 2.

The scanning device 13 scans another movable body and a fixed installedobject that are present in the surrounding of the vehicle 2, by a radaror the like. This enables the vehicle 2 to detect distances or the liketo the other movable body and the fixed installed object that arepresent in the surrounding of the vehicle 2.

The GPS receiver 14 receives radio waves from a GPS satellite, andgenerates current position information on the vehicle 2. The GPSreceiver 14 may receive radio waves from the base station 4 and a radiotower that are fixedly disposed on the ground, and generate or correctthe current position information on the vehicle 2. The vehicle 2 maygenerate the current position information on the vehicle 2 based onradio waves from the base station 4 that are received by the wirelesscommunicating unit 11, for example, different from the GPS receiver 14,or based on detection about the travel of the vehicle 2.

The travel sensor 15 detects information related to actual travel of thevehicle 2. The information related to the actual travel of the vehicle 2includes, for example, a speed and a movement direction of the vehicle2. The information related to the actual travel of the vehicle 2 mayfurther include, for example, an operating state of a drive source, anoperating state of a transmission, an operating state of a brakingdevice, and a steering state of the vehicle 2.

The environment sensor 16 detects an actual environment at a positionwhere the vehicle 2 is present. Information on the actual environmentincludes, for example, a state of sunshine, a state of rain, a type ofroad surface, the temperature, and the humidity.

The operation member 17 is a member with which an occupant riding on thevehicle 2 operates the travel and the like of the vehicle 2. Theoperation member 17 includes, for example, a steering wheel, anaccelerator pedal, a brake pedal, a shift lever, a wiper switch, a turnsignal lever, a start button, and an operation mode switching button.When the occupant operates the operation member 17, the operation member17 generates information on the operation, and outputs the information.

The timer 19 measures a time duration or a time, and outputs the timeduration or the time.

The wireless communicating unit 11 may simply transmit and receivecommunication data of the traffic system 1. The wireless communicatingunit 11 performs communication with the base station 4 and the beaconapparatus 5, for example, which are used in the traffic system 1, andperforms vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication or V2X communicationwith the communication devices, which are used in the other movablebodies. The wireless communicating unit 11 may perform communicationwith one base station 4 or one beacon apparatus 5 that performscommunication in a zone designated by the traffic system 1. In thiscase, when the vehicle 2 moves over the zone, the traffic system 1designates one base station 4 or one beacon apparatus 5 that correspondsto anew zone as a destination of a wireless data communication. Thisenables the wireless communicating unit 11 to transmit and receive themovement data or the like to and from the server apparatus 6 of thetraffic system 1 even when the movable body is moving.

Herein, the movement data includes, for example, identificationinformation, attribute information, position information, positiondetection time information, speed information, and travel directioninformation on a movable body. The movement data may include, inaddition to these, for example, time information corresponding to ageneration timing of the movement data, and the like.

The identification information on a movable body may be information foridentifying the movable body from other different movable bodies. Theidentification information on a movable body may be an identificationnumber unique to the movable body, for example. As for theidentification number on a movable body, for example, a vehicle bodynumber and a serial number that are assigned to the vehicle 2, a MACaddress and an IP address that are assigned to the wirelesscommunicating unit 11, and the like may be used.

The attribute information on a movable body is information indicatingthe type of the movable body. The types of the movable body include, forexample, an automobile, the vehicle 2, the pedestrian 3, a bicycle, adog, a child, and an elderly person. When the movable body is thevehicle 2, the attribute information may include, for example,information on a manufacturer of the vehicle body, a vehicle type, amodel number, a color number, an image of appearance, an exterior optionto be made, the type of tires, the type of wheels, a vehicle bodynumber, and the like.

The position information on a movable body may be position informationgenerated by the GPS receiver 14, for example.

The position detection time information on a movable body may be ameasurement time by the timer 19 at timing when the GPS receiver 14receives GPS radio waves, and a measurement time by the timer 19 attiming when the GPS receiver 14 generates position information, forexample.

The speed information on a movable body may be an actual speed of themovable body detected by the travel sensor 15, for example.

The travel direction information may be an actual movement direction ofthe movable body detected by the travel sensor 15, for example.

The movement data may include a part of these information. The pluralityof movable bodies in the traffic system 1 may transmit and receivemovement data including different information.

The memory 18 records therein (i) various types of programs that areused in the vehicle 2 and (ii) various data that is used during theexecution of the programs. The data to be recorded in the memory 18includes data acquired in the above-mentioned respective units of thevehicle 2. The movement data received by the wireless communicating unit11 is stored and recorded in the memory 18, for example.

The ECU 20 reads and executes the program recorded in the memory 18.This implements a controller of the vehicle 2. The controller of thevehicle 2 controls the above-mentioned respective units of the vehicle2.

FIG. 4 illustrates, as functions of the controller of the vehicle 2 thatare implemented by the ECU 20, a receiving controller 32, a groupgenerator 33, a movable body monitoring unit 34, a transmittingcontroller 35, a travel controller 36, and a path generator 37.

The receiving controller 32 acquires reception data on another movablebody from the wireless communicating unit 11 and processes the receptiondata on the other movable body. When the reception data is movement dataon another movable body, for example, the receiving controller 32records the acquired movement data on the other movable body in thememory 18. This stores and records plural pieces of the acquiredmovement data in the memory 18.

The group generator 33 generates group information on the plurality ofother movable bodies stored and recorded in the memory 18, and recordsthe generated group information in the memory 18.

The movable body monitoring unit 34 monitors movements of a plurality ofother movable bodies, based on the information on the plurality of othermovable bodies stored and recorded in the memory 18. The movable bodymonitoring unit 34 monitors an influence on the course (travel) of thehost vehicle, caused by the movement of another movable body, forexample.

The movable body monitoring unit 34 predicts courses of the othermovable bodies that are present within a monitoring area including thehost vehicle and the course, for example, and sets a monitoring levelfor each of the other movable bodies based on a determination as to anintersection with the course of the host vehicle.

The monitoring level for each of the other movable bodies may beclassified into, for example, a high level when the course of anothermovable body intersects with the course of the host vehicle, a middlelevel when the course of another movable body approaches the course ofthe host vehicle, and a low level when the course of another movablebody is distant from the course of the host vehicle.

The transmitting controller 35 causes the wireless communicating unit 11to transmit part or all of the movement data on the plurality of othermovable bodies that are stored and recorded in the memory 18.

The path generator 37 generates a movement path along which a movablebody moves to a destination, and records information on the generatedmovement path in the memory 18.

The travel controller 36 controls the travel of the vehicle 2 byself-driving or driving assist. The travel controller 36 adjusts thecourse of the vehicle 2 in accordance with the operation of theoperation member 17 by the occupant, the movement path recorded in thememory 18, the movement data on the plurality of other movable bodiesrecorded in the memory 18, the monitoring result by the movable bodymonitoring unit 34, and the like, and controls the travel of the vehicle2, for example.

For example, the travel controller 36 determines a short-term coursebased on the amount of operation of the operation member 17 and themovement path, and adjusts the course of the vehicle 2 so as to preventthe short-term course from intersecting with or approaching a course ofanother movable body. Moreover, the travel controller 36 controls thetravel of the vehicle 2 so as to cause the vehicle 2 to move along thegenerated course.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of processingof the receiving controller 32 in FIG. 4.

For example, when the wireless communicating unit 11 receives newmovement data, the receiving controller 32 may conduct receptionprocessing in FIG. 5 repeatedly or at periodic timing.

At a step ST1 in the reception processing in FIG. 5, the receivingcontroller 32 determines whether the wireless communicating unit 11 hasreceived movement data.

The receiving controller 32 may determine not only whether the wirelesscommunicating unit 11 receives movement data on individual movablebodies but also whether the wireless communicating unit 11 receivesmovement data on a group of a plurality of movable bodies. Moreover, thereceiving controller 32 may simply receive movement data on a groupcorresponding to a plurality of movable bodies, but may not receivemovement data on individual movable bodies, and may make adetermination, in some cases.

If the wireless communicating unit 11 has not received movement data,the receiving controller 32 ends the reception processing in FIG. 5.

If the wireless communicating unit 11 has received movement data, thereceiving controller 32 acquires and stores the movement data in thememory 18, at a step ST2. Thereafter, the receiving controller 32 endsthe reception processing in FIG. 5.

The processing in the foregoing is repeated to store plural pieces ofmovement data on the respective other movable bodies at different timesacquired by the receiving controller 32, in the memory 18.

When storing new movement data in the memory 18, the receivingcontroller 32 may delete old and unnecessary data in the memory 18. Thisprevents the amount of data stored in the memory 18 from continuouslyincreasing with time. It is possible to appropriately store the movementdata on a plurality of other movable bodies using the memory 18 having alimited storage capacity.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of processingof the group generator 33 in FIG. 4.

The group generator 33 may repeatedly conduct grouping processing inFIG. 6 when new movement data is received and stored in the memory 18,for example, or at periodic timing.

At a step ST11 of the grouping processing in FIG. 6, the group generator33 reads the plural pieces of movement data stored in the memory 18, anddetermines whether a low-speed movable body is present.

For example, the group generator 33 determines that a low-speed movablebody is present when the attribute information in the plural pieces ofmovement data stored in the memory 18 indicates the pedestrian 3, abicycle, a dog, a child, or an elderly person.

Alternatively, for example, the group generator 33 determines that alow-speed movable body is present when actual speed information in themovement data indicates a speed equal to or lower than a predeterminedspeed.

At a step ST12, the group generator 33 reads the latest movement data ona plurality of low-speed movable bodies or movable bodies movement dataof which has been stored in the memory 18, and maps the low-speedmovable bodies or the movable bodies on a local map of an area includingthe host vehicle. When the latest movement data read from the memory 18is old data, the group generator 33 predicts positions of the low-speedmovable bodies or the movable bodies at the current time from themovement speeds and the movement directions that are obtained based onthe movement data, and maps the low-speed movable bodies or the movablebodies the movement data on the predicted position.

At a step ST13, the group generator 33 determines whether to group andmonitor the plurality of low-speed movable bodies, based on a travelenvironment. The group generator 33 determines whether to generate groupinformation, based on the travel environment.

For example, the group generator 33 determines a time period duringwhich vehicles are traveling.

Specifically, the group generator 33 determines whether the current timeof the timer 19 is a time period of daytime or a time period ofnighttime. The time period of daytime may be, for example, from 6:00 to18:00. The time period of nighttime may be, for example, from 18:00 to6:00. The time periods of daytime and nighttime may dynamically vary.

Alternatively, for example, the group generator 33 may determine whetherthe current time is the time period of daytime or nighttime, inaccordance with the presence of sunshine measured by the environmentsensor 16.

Accordingly, if the current time is the time period of daytime, thegroup generator 33 determines that the generation of group informationis necessary, and causes the processing to proceed to a step ST14.

If the current time is the time period of nighttime, the group generator33 determines that the generation of the group information isunnecessary, and ends the grouping processing in FIG. 6 withoutgenerating the group information.

The group generator 33 may determine whether to generate the groupinformation based on information other than the time period such as aday of the week, a date, and other statutes, or a travel environmentincluding a combination thereof.

Alternatively, for example, the group generator 33 may determine whetherto generate the group information, based on the season such as winterand summer, the weather such as rainy weather and fine weather, or atravel environment including a combination thereof.

For example, a ratio that pedestrians go out in the winter seasondecreases, compared with that in the summer season and other seasons.Therefore, in the winter season, even in the time period of daytime, forexample, the group generator 33 may determine that the generation ofgroup information is unnecessary.

Moreover, in the rainy weather, the ratio that pedestrian go outdecreases, compared with that in other weather such as the fine weather.Therefore, in the rainy weather, even in the time period of daytime, forexample, the group generator 33 may determine that the generation ofgroup information is unnecessary.

Moreover, the group generator 33 counts the number of pedestrians in thelatest path on which the vehicle has traveled until now in order tomeasure a travel environment. When the counted number of pedestrians isless than a threshold, the group generator 33 may determine that thegeneration of group information is unnecessary.

At the step ST14, the group generator 33 selects a plurality oflow-speed movable bodies that are close to each other, for example, aplurality of low-speed movable bodies that stop near the pedestriancrossing 9, as objects to be grouped. At this time, the group generator33 may classify the plurality of low-speed movable bodies into types,for selection as objects to be grouped.

The group generator 33 uses movement data on the plurality of low-speedmovable bodies selected as objects to be grouped to generate movementdata on a group. The group generator 33 may select a plurality oflow-speed movable bodies that stop within an area and in the vicinity ofthe area, as objects to be grouped.

Movement data on a group may include, similarly to movement data onindividual movable bodies, identification information, attributeinformation, position information, position detection time information,speed information, and travel direction information on the group.Movement data on a group of a plurality of pedestrians 3, for example,may include newly issued identification information, attributeinformation on the pedestrians 3, position information on the center ofthe group, time information when the group is generated, informationrelated to the speed of the plurality of pedestrians 3, and informationon the movement directions of the plurality of pedestrians 3. The groupgenerator 33 generates, based on the information and the like includedin the movement data on the plurality of low-speed movable bodies havingbeen selected as objects to be grouped, information on a group thereof.

The group generator 33 may map only low-speed movable bodies that maymove so as to intersect with the current position and the course of thehost vehicle, for example, on a map, and group, based on a relativepositional relationship among the plurality of low-speed movable bodiesin the map, a plurality of low-speed movable bodies that are close toone another.

At a step ST15, the group generator 33 stores the generated movementdata on the group in the memory 18. The movement data on the group isstored in the memory 18 in association with the plurality of low-speedmovable bodies belonging to the group. Identification information oneach of the plurality of movable bodies belonging to the group may beadded to the movement data on the group.

Thereafter, the group generator 33 ends the grouping processing in FIG.6.

With the processing in the foregoing, as for a plurality of low-speedmovable bodies stored in the memory 18, movement data on a group isstored in the memory 18 for each group of a plurality of low-speedmovable bodies that stop in the vicinities of a pedestrian crossingacross the course of the host vehicle, for example. Thereafter, whenreceiving new movement data on the low-speed movable body belonging tothe group, the group generator 33 may update information on the movementdata on the group based on information on the new movement data.Moreover, when the range of the positions of the plurality of movablebodies belonging to the group expands at a ratio more than a fixedratio, the group generator 33 may delete movement data on the group inthe memory 18. Moreover, when the generated plurality of groups areoverlapped, the group generator 33 may integrate these groups into onegroup.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of processingof the transmitting controller 35 in FIG. 4.

The transmitting controller 35 may repeatedly conduct transmissionprocessing in FIG. 7 when new movement data on the host vehicle isrecorded in the memory 18, for example, or at periodic timing.

At a step ST21 in the transmission processing in FIG. 7, thetransmitting controller 35 determines whether the movement data storedin the memory 18 includes data to be transmitted.

If the movement data stored in the memory 18 does not include data to betransmitted, the transmitting controller 35 ends the transmissionprocessing in FIG. 7.

If the movement data stored in the memory 18 includes data to betransmitted, at a step ST22, the transmitting controller 35 acquires thedata to be transmitted from the memory 18, and outputs and transmits thedata to be transmitted to the wireless communicating unit 11.Thereafter, the transmitting controller 35 ends the transmissionprocessing in FIG. 7.

With the processing in the foregoing, the movement data that is storedin the memory 18 is transmitted to the communication devices of theother movable bodies or the vehicle control system 10, as appropriate.Each of the communication devices of the other movable bodies or thevehicle control system 10 stores the movement data transmitted from thehost vehicle in the memory 18 thereof, and uses the movement data forcontrol of the movement thereof. When movement data on the host vehiclehas been recorded in the memory 18, the transmitting controller 35 maytransmit the movement data on the host vehicle with movement data on theother movable bodies, to the communication devices of the other movablebodies or the vehicle control system 10.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of processingof the movable body monitoring unit 34 in FIG. 4.

The movable body monitoring unit 34 may repeatedly conduct monitoringprocessing in FIG. 8, for example, (i) when a series of movement controlby the travel controller 36 has been completed one time, (ii) when newmovement data on the host vehicle has been recorded in the memory 18, or(iii) at periodic timing.

At a step ST31 of the monitoring processing in FIG. 8, as for pluralpieces of movement data stored in the memory 18, the movable bodymonitoring unit 34 acquires the movement data on a group with a higherpriority than that on individual movable bodies. When plural pieces ofmovement data on each movable body or each group at different times hasbeen stored in the memory 18, the movable body monitoring unit 34acquires the plural pieces of movement data.

At a step ST32, the movable body monitoring unit 34 predicts anddetermines, using the acquired movement data, (i) whether the movementof another movable body corresponding to the movement data influencesthe movement of the host vehicle and (ii) a degree of influence, anddetermines the monitoring level in accordance with the result of theprediction determination.

When the movable body monitoring unit 34 has acquired movement data on agroup, the movable body monitoring unit 34 moves, for example, alow-speed movable body that protrudes most in a lane direction among aplurality of low-speed movable bodies belonging to the group, at thehighest movement speed in the lane direction among the plurality oflow-speed movable bodies belonging to the group. The movable bodymonitoring unit 34 then determines whether there is a possibility thatanother movable body intersects with or approaches the course of thehost vehicle. Moreover, the movable body monitoring unit 34 maycalculate an arrival time of the other movable body to the intersectingposition and the approaching position or an arrival time of the hostvehicle to the intersecting position or the approaching position, andmay determine whether there is a possibility that the other movable bodyintersects with or approaches the course of the host vehicle byconsidering a time difference therebetween.

When the movable body monitoring unit 34 has acquired individualmovement data on another movable body, the movable body monitoring unit34 predicts a course of the other movable body, for example, from themovement data, and determines whether there is a possibility that theother movable body intersects with or approaches the course of the hostvehicle. Moreover, the movable body monitoring unit 34 may calculate anarrival time of the other movable body to the intersecting position andthe approaching position or an arrival time of the host vehicle to theintersecting position or the approaching position, and may determinewhether there is a possibility that the other movable body intersectswith or approaches the course of the host vehicle by considering a timedifference therebetween.

At a step ST33, the movable body monitoring unit 34 assigns a monitoringlevel to the other movable body based on (i) whether the movement of theother movable body influences the movement of the host vehicle and (ii)the degree of influence.

The monitoring level to be assigned to the other movable body may be,for example, a high level when the course of the other movable bodyintersects with the course of the host vehicle, a middle level when thecourse of the other movable body approaches the course of the hostvehicle, and a low level when the course of the other movable bodyneither intersects with nor approaches the course of the host vehicle.

Repeating the processing in the foregoing enables the movable bodymonitoring unit 34 to continuously monitor another movable body inaccordance with an every-changing movement situation of the othermovable body. Moreover, the movable body monitoring unit 34 may classifya plurality of other movable bodies according to the monitoring level.

When the movable body monitoring unit 34 has acquired movement data on agroup, the movable body monitoring unit 34 may monitor movements of aplurality of low-speed movable bodies belonging to the group based on amovement of a multiple-order curve generated by integrating themovements of the plurality of low-speed movable bodies belonging to thegroup.

Moreover, when the movable body monitoring unit 34 has acquired movementdata on an individual low-speed movable body, the movable bodymonitoring unit 34 may monitor the low-speed movable body based on anindividual movement of the low-speed movable body.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of processingof the travel controller 36 in FIG. 4. In one embodiment, the travelcontroller 36 may serve as a “vehicle control apparatus”.

The travel controller 36 may repeatedly conduct traveling processing inFIG. 9, for example, (i) when a previous-time series of the movementcontrol by the travel controller 36 has completed, (ii) when newmovement data on the host vehicle has been recorded in the memory 18 or(iii) at periodic timing.

At a step ST41 of the travel processing in FIG. 9, the travel controller36 acquires detection data and the like of various host vehicle sensorsthat are provided to the vehicle 2.

At a step ST42, the travel controller 36 determines whether a travelstate of the host vehicle is in an urgent state based on the detectiondata of the host vehicle sensors. For example, when detecting runningout of the pedestrian 3 or another vehicle into a roadway in an imageahead of the vehicle 2 captured by the image capturing device 12, thetravel controller 36 determines that the travel state of the hostvehicle is the urgent state.

When the travel state of the host vehicle is the urgent state, thetravel controller 36 causes the processing to proceed to a step ST46. Atthe step ST46, the travel controller 36 executes travel control of thevehicle 2 to deal with the urgent situation and occupant protectioncontrol. The travel controller 36 executes, for example, avoid controlto instantly brake the vehicle 2 to be stopped suddenly. Moreover, whenthe travel sensor 15 detects the high acceleration after having startedthe control of the sudden stop, the travel controller 36 executes theoccupant protection control using a seatbelt and an airbag. In theurgent travel control, the travel controller 36 may transmit movementdata on the host vehicle indicating the urgency from the wirelesscommunicating unit 11 to other movable bodies. This enables the othermovable bodies to start urgent travel control following the urgenttravel control of the host vehicle. The travel controller 36 of the hostvehicle also determines whether the wireless communicating unit 11 hasreceived movement data indicating the urgency from another movable bodyat the step ST42. When the travel controller 36 of the host vehicle hasreceived such movement data, the travel controller 36 may cause theprocessing to proceed to the step ST46.

When the travel state of the host vehicle is not the urgent state, thetravel controller 36 causes the processing to proceed to a step ST43. Atthe step ST43, the travel controller 36 acquires the monitoring resultby the movable body monitoring unit 34.

At a step ST44, the travel controller 36 generates or adjusts a courseof the vehicle 2 in accordance with the monitoring results about themovements of the plurality of movable bodies by the movable bodymonitoring unit 34, and updates the course.

The travel controller 36 generates a course during a movement controlperiod this time of the vehicle 2, for example, based on the movementpath generated by the path generator 37. For example, the travelcontroller 36 generates a course in which the vehicle travels on apresent lane without any change when the vehicle travels straight. Thetravel controller 36 generates a course in which the vehicle changes thelane for right or left turning and travels when the vehicles turns rightor left.

Moreover, the travel controller 36 determines, based on the monitoringresult, whether there is another movable body having a possibility ofintersecting or approaching the course that is used for the movementcontrol this time of the vehicle 2 during the movement control periodthis time of the vehicle 2. The travel controller 36 predicts a movingspeed and a moving direction of a movable body having a high-level ormiddle-level monitoring result during the movement control period thistime of the vehicle 2, and determines whether the movable body intersectwith or approach the course of the host vehicle.

When there is no movable body that intersects with or approaches thecourse of the host vehicle during the movement control period this timeof the vehicle 2, the travel controller 36 adopts the course generatedbased on the movement path as a course to be used for the control thistime and updates the course.

When there is another movable body that intersects with or approachesthe course of the host vehicle during the movement control period thistime of the vehicle 2, the travel controller 36 updates the course so asto cause the course generated based on the movement path to be apartfrom the course of the other movable body. Alternatively, the travelcontroller 36 updates speed information on the course generated based onthe movement path so as to allow the vehicle to stop before theintersecting position or the approaching position.

At a step ST45, the travel controller 36 controls the travel of the hostvehicle, in accordance with the updated new course, by the controlwithin a range in which the vehicle 2 travels in safety. When theoccupant operates the operation member 17 during the control, the travelcontroller 36 may adjust the course by increasing or decreasing anamount of control relative to an amount of the operation.

At a step ST46, the travel controller 36 generates movement dataincluding new position information and new time information on the hostvehicle after the control, and stores the movement data in the memory18.

Repeating the processing in the foregoing enables the travel controller36 to continuously control the movement of the host vehicle inaccordance with an every-changing movement situation of another movablebody. The transmitting controller 35 outputs and transmits the movementdata on the host vehicle with the movement data on the different movablebody, to the wireless communicating unit 11.

As in the foregoing, in the embodiment, as for low-speed movable bodiesthat are determined based on the actual speeds or the types of othermovable bodies, movement data serving as group information forcollectively monitoring a plurality of low-speed movable bodies isgenerated. At this time, in the embodiment, whether to generate thegroup information is determined in accordance with the travelenvironment. Moreover, in the embodiment, when movement data on a groupis generated, movements of a plurality of low-speed movable bodies aremonitored collectively using the movement data on the group. Also, whenthe movement data on the group is not generated, the plurality oflow-speed movable bodies are monitored individually.

Therefore, in the embodiment, in a case suitable for monitoringmovements of a plurality of low-speed movable bodies by grouping, forexample, during the daytime, the movements of the plurality of low-speedmovable bodies are grouped and collectively monitored on the group basisusing the movement data of the group. Moreover, in the embodiment, in acase not suitable for monitoring movements of a plurality of low-speedmovable bodies by grouping, for example, during the nighttime, themovements of the plurality of low-speed movable bodies are monitoredindividually without generating movement data on a group. In theembodiment, it is possible to control the travel and the like of thevehicle based on the respective monitoring results.

Even when a large number of persons are present at an intersectionduring the daytime, for example, in the embodiment, it is possible tocollectively and efficiently monitor the large number of the pedestrians3 with a low load, and control the travel of the vehicle in accordancewith the monitoring.

Moreover, less persons are present at the intersection during nighttimethan during the daytime in many cases, and there is a higher possibilitythat some persons may cross the intersection without following thesignal. In the embodiment, it is possible to individually monitor aplurality of persons who are present at the intersection during thenighttime with such a higher possibility, and control the travel of thevehicle in accordance with the monitoring.

As in the foregoing, in the embodiment, it is possible to appropriatelymonitor a plurality of low-speed movable bodies regardless of the numberof persons, by switching the way of monitoring in accordance with thetravel environment such as the time period when the vehicle istravelling.

The embodiment in the foregoing is a preferred example of thedisclosure, but the disclosure is not limited to this. Manymodifications and changes may be made to the embodiment withoutdeparting from the sprit and scope of the disclosure.

For example, in the above embodiment, the vehicle control system 10 andthe communication device which are provided to the movable body use themovable body monitoring unit 34 and the travel controller 36 in order tocontrol the movement of the vehicle 2 based on the movement data storedin the memory 18.

Alternatively, for example, the vehicle control system 10 and thecommunication device that are provided to the movable body may conductprocessing similar to that of the movable body monitoring unit 34 in theprocessing of the travel controller 36, and simply use the travelcontroller 36. In this case, the travel controller 36 may conductprocessing similar to that of the movable body monitoring unit 34 at thestep ST43 in FIG. 9, for example. Moreover, when the movable bodymonitoring unit 34 is integrated with the travel controller 36, thetravel controller 36 may update, without assigning a monitoring level,the course so as to adjust the course, using the monitoringdetermination result as it is.

In the above embodiment, in the vehicle control system 10 and thecommunication device that are provided to the movable body, thereceiving controller 32 manages movement data to be recorded in thememory.

Alternatively, for example, the vehicle control system 10 and thecommunication device that are provided to the movable body may beprovided with a memory managing unit, independent of the receivingcontroller 32.

In the above embodiment, the vehicle control system 10 and thecommunication device that are provided to the movable body includes thetravel controller 36 and the transmitting controller 35.

Alternatively, for example, the vehicle control system 10 and thecommunication device that are provided to the movable body may integratethe transmitting controller 35 with the travel controller 36, and causethe travel controller 36 to conduct the transmission processing of themovement data. In this case, the travel controller 36 may transmit thestored movement data on the host vehicle by the wireless communicatingunit 11, after the processing at the step ST47 in FIG. 9, for example.

In the above embodiment, the vehicle control system 10 provided to thevehicle 2 is provided with the respective units illustrated in FIG. 4.Alternatively, for example, the vehicle control system 10 may beprovided with a part of the functions in FIG. 4. Moreover, the vehiclecontrol system 10 may be provided with all of the functions in FIG. 4 bythe remaining functions in FIG. 4 being provided by a mobile terminal,for example, with respect to the part of the functions in FIG. 4, whichare uniquely provided.

Moreover, the vehicle control system 10 may be provided as a part of thefunctions in FIG. 4, and may conduct the above-mentioned variousprocessing in that state. The vehicle communication device 22 may beprovided with apart of the functions in FIG. 4, as the host vehiclesensor to be mounted on the vehicle 2, for example. Specifically, whenconducting the control other than the travel in the vehicle 2, thevehicle control system 10 does not need to be provided with all the hostvehicle sensors in FIG. 4, the operation member 17, and the pathgenerator 37 of the ECU 20. Even in this case, the vehicle communicationdevice 22 that is provided to the vehicle control system 10 configuresthe traffic system 1 that transmits and receives movement data and thelike to and from the server apparatus 6.

In the above embodiment, the vehicle communication device 22 has beendescribed as apart of the vehicle control system 10. A control systemfor a low-speed movable body such as the pedestrian 3 and a bicycle maybe also provided with functions similar to those of the above-mentionedthe vehicle communication device 22. Moreover, the above-mentionedvehicle control system 10 and the vehicle communication device 22 may bealso applied to the vehicle 2 of a different type, such as an electrictrain, other than the vehicle 2.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A movable body monitoring apparatusconfigured to be mounted on a movable body and to receive movement datarelated to movements of other movable bodies, the movable bodymonitoring apparatus comprising: an acquiring unit configured to acquirethe movement data on the other movable bodies; a generator configuredto: generate group information on a plurality of low-speed movablebodies which are determined on a basis of actual speeds or types of theother movable bodies; and determine whether to generate the groupinformation, in accordance with a travel environment; and a monitoringunit configured to, when the group information is generated,collectively monitor movements of the plurality of low-speed movablebodies using the group information, and when the group information isnot generated, individually monitor the movements of the plurality oflow-speed movable bodies.
 2. The movable body monitoring apparatusaccording to claim 1, wherein the generator is configured to determinewhether to generate the group information, in accordance with a timeperiod during which a vehicle is traveling.
 3. The movable bodymonitoring apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the generator isconfigured to, in a time period of daytime, determine that the groupinformation is to be generated, and in a time period of nighttime,determine that it is unnecessary to generate the group information. 4.The movable body monitoring apparatus according to claim 2, wherein thegenerator is configured to, in a time period of daytime, determine thatthe group information is to be generated, and in a time period ofnighttime, determine that it is unnecessary to generate the groupinformation.
 5. A vehicle control system comprising: the movable bodymonitoring apparatus according to claim 1; and a vehicle controlapparatus configured to control a vehicle on a basis of the monitoringby the movable body monitoring apparatus.
 6. A vehicle control systemcomprising: the movable body monitoring apparatus according to claim 2;and a vehicle control apparatus configured to control a vehicle on abasis of the monitoring by the movable body monitoring apparatus.
 7. Avehicle control system comprising: the movable body monitoring apparatusaccording to claim 3; and a vehicle control apparatus configured tocontrol a vehicle on a basis of the monitoring by the movable bodymonitoring apparatus.
 8. A vehicle control system comprising: themovable body monitoring apparatus according to claim 4; and a vehiclecontrol apparatus configured to control a vehicle on a basis of themonitoring by the movable body monitoring apparatus.
 9. A traffic systemcomprising: the movable body monitoring apparatus according to claim 1;and a server apparatus configured to transmit and receive movement datarelated to the movements of the movable bodies to and from the movablebody monitoring apparatus.
 10. A traffic system comprising: the movablebody monitoring apparatus according to claim 2; and a server apparatusconfigured to transmit and receive movement data related to themovements of the movable bodies to and from the movable body monitoringapparatus.
 11. A traffic system comprising: the movable body monitoringapparatus according to claim 3; and a server apparatus configured totransmit and receive movement data related to the movements of themovable bodies to and from the movable body monitoring apparatus.
 12. Atraffic system comprising: the movable body monitoring apparatusaccording to claim 4; and a server apparatus configured to transmit andreceive movement data related to the movements of the movable bodies toand from the movable body monitoring apparatus.
 13. A movable bodymonitoring apparatus configured to be mounted on a movable body and toreceive movement data related to movements of other movable bodies, themovable body monitoring apparatus comprising circuitry configured toacquire the movement data on the other movable bodies, generate groupinformation on a plurality of low-speed movable bodies which aredetermined on a basis of actual speeds or types of the other movablebodies, determine whether to generate the group information, inaccordance with a travel environment, collectively monitor movements ofthe plurality of low-speed movable bodies using the group information,when the group information is generated, and individually monitor themovements of the plurality of low-speed movable bodies, when the groupinformation is not generated.